Bills aim to improve access to addiction treatment across Pa.

Jenny Wagner @ATJWagner

Thursday

Mar 14, 2019 at 4:53 PMMar 14, 2019 at 4:53 PM

A House committee chaired by state Rep. Gene DiGirolamo heard testimony this week on two bills that would establish an online registry to track available beds in detox and rehabilitation facilities, as well as a warm handoff program to connect people who have survived an overdose with treatment.

A House committee chaired by state Rep. Gene DiGirolamo heard testimony this week on two bills aimed at improving access to addiction treatment across the state.

The bills, both sponsored by Rep. Doyle Heffley, R-Carbon County, would establish an online registry to track available beds in detox and rehabilitation facilities, as well as create a warm handoff program to connect people who have survived an overdose with treatment.

Before turning over the House Human Services Committee hearing to Heffley, DiGirolamo commended his colleagues in Harrisburg for taking such legislative action to address the opioid crisis in Pennsylvania.

“Even though this problem ... it appears to keep getting worse — although we’re getting some reports of the deaths being down in some of the counties — the thing that keeps me going is that if it wasn’t for the good work that we have done up here in the Legislature the past two or three legislative sessions, that it would probably be two or three times worse than what it is today,” said DiGirolamo, R-18, of Bensalem.

“Obviously this is an issue that affects every county, every part of the state, rural and urban, and it is something that we need to continue to address,” Heffley added before introducing several individuals who provided testimony on House Bill 596, which would establish the bed registry, and House Bill 424, the warm handoff bill, which was inspired by the Blue Guardian program in Lehigh County.

Under Blue Guardian, police and other first responders notify the program when they respond to an opioid overdose. Then later, an officer and a certified recovery specialist, specially trained individuals who often have personal experience with addiction, visit the person to follow up and discuss treatment options.

Layne Turner, Lehigh’s drug and alcohol administrator, told the committee that Blue Guardian has had a positive impact in the county since it started a year ago.

Bucks County’s warm handoff program, known as BCARES, Bucks County-Connect Assess Refer Engage Support, pairs six area hospitals with three treatment providers that provide recovery specialists to respond to talk with people who end up in the emergency rooms after an overdose. Unlike Blue Guardian, police and other first responders are not involved at this time.

The county currently is working on expanding the BCARES program to make sure recovery specialists are available 24/7, according to Diane Rosati, executive director of the Bucks County Drug and Alcohol Commission.

Data show more than 90 percent of people agree to go to the hospital after an overdose, Rosati said. And for the people who don’t agree, first responders leave behind information kits and doses of naloxone, the opioid overdose reversal drug.

Adding a program like Blue Guardian could strengthen the efforts, Rosati said, and she believes some police departments in the county would be in favor of it, as would the county.

“Something like Blue Guardians would bring it to the next level certainly,” she said.

Bucks already has a bed registry, but Rosati said an online system could strengthen it. Currently, detox and rehab facilities notify the county each morning of how many beds they have available, and it stays fairly aware of the in-county resources throughout the day.

Rosati said an online system could be challenging to maintain because of how quickly beds can fill up, but the county would be in favor to help speed up access.

A few House members representing parts of Bucks and Montgomery counties, including Rep. Craig Staats, R-145, Richland, Rep. Tina Davis, D-141, Bristol Township, and Rep. Tom Murt, R-152, Upper Moreland, have signed on as co-sponsors of one or both bills.

Heffley's office said he is working on some amendments to the bills but the next steps would be to put them to a vote in the committee.

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